Pope Leo XIV called for the \u201cpandemic of arms, large and small\u201d to end during a weekly public prayer with crowds in St Peter\u2019s Square on Sunday that also addressed the plague of mass shootings in the US.<\/p>\n
The first US pope in history, a native of Chicago, spoke<\/a> in English as he prayed for the victims of last week\u2019s shooting during a Catholic school mass in Minnesota which saw two children killed and others seriously injured.<\/p>\n \u201cOur prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school mass in the American state of Minnesota<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hold in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.\u201d<\/p>\n Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the shooting on Wednesday at the Annunciation Catholic school church in Minneapolis and 18 people were injured. The shooter fired 116 rifle rounds through the church\u2019s stained glass windows before he died by suicide.<\/p>\n The shooting has reignited <\/a>debate over guns in the US after the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, called for solutions on gun control rather than the \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d statements often made by Republicans. The US has experienced<\/a>, by far, a higher proportion of mass gun shootings than other countries around the world.<\/p>\n The pope had initially refrained from political commentary in response to the shooting, offering condolences by telegram, stating he was saddened by the \u201cterrible tragedy\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones. At this extremely difficult time, the Holy Father imparts to the Annunciation Catholic School Community, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the people of the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace, fortitude and consolation in the Lord Jesus,\u201d the telegram <\/a>stated.<\/p>\n He began his appeal on Sunday by calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, calling on both sides to make a \u201cserious commitment to dialogue\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time that those responsible renounce the logic of weapons and take the path of negotiations and peace, with the support of the international community,\u201d Leo said. \u201cThe voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must rise.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo\u2019s predecessor, Pope Francis, had long decried the weapons industry calling gun manufacturers \u201cmerchants of death\u201d and asked during his speech to US Congress in 2015 why weapons were sold purely to kill.<\/p>\n